The Stereophile review only confirms how poor some of their equipment recommendations can be. Certainly, personal tastes and preferences can lead to different opinions and conclusions, but I've gotten far better advice from my local dealer and fellow Audiogoners than I have from Stereophile. The DAC 64 is a truly outstanding component; open, liquid and detailed in equal measure, very close to a CD 12 in my humble opinion. I have written about it several times in this forum. The Chord absolutely blew away my old Ikemi, and it stomps all other single box players that I've heard, save the CD 12. I have had opportunity to listen to almost all of their Class A CD players, and I suspect the best-reviewed equipment is made by the manufacturer that gives the reviewer the best deal on demo units (or other equipment). I'd like to hear the objective "professional" reviewers deny it, because the special deals may affect their judgement and their ears. If the reviewers wish to be considered "objective," they should disclose their relationships with manufacturers and distributors and let the reader know what "perks" (deep discounts, free equipment, permanent loans, trips to Europe) they get from them. After all, being a "professional" means that you profess and adhere to a code of ethics and conduct, not that you get paid for what you do. Is the Musical Fidelity DAC better than the Chord? Wake up and listen!
